Fred F. Deal, Jr.

S/SGT. FRED F. DEAL JR.

ARMY SERIAL NO. 34035675

ONLY CHILD OF FRED F. DEAL AND AMY PRICE DEAL

BORN AUGUST 30th, 1921

KILLED IN GERMANY JANUARY 4th, 1944

SURVIVED BY FATHER, MOTHER, AND GRANDMOTHERS, MRS. J. A. DEAL OF THE WEDDINGTON COMMUNITY AND MRS. W. H. PRICE OF CHARLOTTE, N.C.

S/Sgt. Fred F. Deal Jr. was born and reared in the Weddington Community of Union County, N.C. He joined the Weddington Methodist Church when he was seven years old and took part in all church activities. He was always an outstanding pupil in school work. He finished Waxhaw High School in 1938 and was an honor graduate, winning the medal in Science. He never missed a day during High School and very few days in his entire school life. He graduated from Brevard College in 1940.

He was working for the Austin Electrical Company in Charlotte, N. C. doing defense work when he was inducted into the service in August of 1942. He first reported to Fort Bragg, N. C., afterwards being transferred to the Technical Training School at Keesler Field, Miss. He was then sent to the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in San Diego, Calif. From there he went to the Douglas Aircraft Corporation in Santa Monica, Calif., where he took an advanced course in Aircraft. Next he was sent to Flexible Gunnery School in Fort Myers, Fla. He was graduated and received his wings from this school in April of 1943. He was then sent to the Army Air Base at Salt Lake City, Utah. From there he was sent to Davis Mortham Field, Tuson, Arizona. Then he went to the Army Air Base at Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he was assigned to a B 24 Liberator as an assistant Engineer and Gunner. While at Alamogordo, New Mexico, he received a six day furlough, which was the only furlough he ever had at home while in service. He flew home and because of the distance, he only got to stay at home for about 48 hours. This was in June of 1943.

From Alamogordo his group flew to Topeka Army Air Base in Topeka, Kansas. This was in July of 1943. From Topeka his unit, 392 Bomb-Group 576 Bomb-Sqdn., flew to Presque, Maine. From there they flew overseas by way of Iceland in September of 1943. He was stationed in England with the 8th Air Force. He completed many missions over Germany and was declared missing in action over Keil, Germany on January 4th, 1944. A year later he was officially declared dead.

He was awarded the Purple Heart medal and the Air Medal. An additional award of the Air Medal and the Oak Leaf Cluster was presented to his Mother at Morris Field, Charlotte, N.C., on January 25th, 1945. On Sunday afternoon August 11th, 1946, a Memorial Dedication Service was held at Weddington Methodist Church for S/Sgt. Fred F. Deal Jr. his father and mother presented the church a 12 piece set of Chancel Furniture in their son’s memory.

After the war had ended and S/Sgt. Deals Crew Members who had been prisoners of war were liberated, the War Department learned that S/Sgt. Deal had been killed on January 4th, 1944. In December of 1946, his parents learned that his body was buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery at Neuville-En-Condroz, Belgium. They sent flowers to his grave on Memorial Day, May 30th, 1947. Then they obtained the name of the Methodist Pastor of Liege, Belgium, who visited his grave and made pictures to send home to his parents.

His remains were brought back to the United States in May of 1949. He was reburied in his home Cemetery at Weddington Methodist Church on May 22nd, 1949. A Military Burial Service was conducted by Chaplain Mitchell Faulkner of the Pineville Circuit, N. C., and by Rev. G. G. Adams Jr. of the Weddington Church.


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